As good as Batman Begins is, it's The Dark Knight that elevates the series and the genre to heights never reached before. Everything about this film is top notch, Grade A impeccable. Christopher Nolan joins the ranks of true visionaries and creates one of, if not the greatest sequels of all time. Christian Bale as Batman takes his role even deeper than the first one. But this movie begins and ends with Heath Ledger as the Joker. His performance is nothing short of brilliant and he did the impossible, He redefined and made the character his own. When you sign up to play an iconic character like Joker, you will invariably be compared to Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson. But now THEY are the ones being compared to Heath.

So what makes Ledger's performance great? We see a Joker that 'just is', not for fame an glory, but one that can't help himself and can't control what he is and does. With a fractured mind like that, you see why he can't be reasoned or bargained with, which makes him the most dangerous foe Batman will ever face. With no pressure points to inflict on him, he will always be uncontrollable. Heath just nails it in projecting a flawed, albeit highly entertaining character. It's a shame that he passed away shortly after. Not only did we lose a great actor, but the chance for even more Joker performances had they gone down that road.

If I have any criticism about The Dark Knight it's a couple of things. First, Batman's "voice". At times it was a bit overkill and has since been parodied ad nauseam. Second is the casting of Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes, taking over for Katie Holmes. I like continuity with my movies and whenever an actor is "replaces" along the way with someone else, it just feels....wrong. These two things don't harm the movie in anyway, but I felt that they needed to be addressed here.

I highly recommend this as a Buy, and this is definitely worth a Rent for those that don't like the Superhero Genre. It's worth it just to see Heath Ledger prove why he deserved the Oscar for Best Support Actor with his final role. Amazing.

Hahahahaha. The sight of Adam West running around with a cannonball bomb over his head is f*cking PRICELESS!! You know, I have NEVER seen Batman: The Movie. That scene alone has made me decide that I need to see this for myself once and for all!! As for posting the clip here in this thread, was there ever any doubt as to which movie would get the #1 spot? I agree 100% with this list. Now, gonna go check the Library and see if they have a copy of Batman: The Movie......

Oh my god, Batman The Movie is crazy the first time you see it. And there's a commentary track on it with Adam West and Burt Ward talking about how great the movie is and how much better it is than current movies because the picture quality is so good and bright and colourful and the whole family could see it.

I don't want to spoil the movie for you, but the cannon ball bomb isn't the only great visual in the flick.

I just added the movie to my Hold List online at the Library. First in line. Shouldn't be more than a few days before it gets here. Can't wait! I just checked to see if the Library had the entire season (which I haven't seen in yeeeeeeeeeeeears, going all the way back to Elementary School days) and I was shocked to read that it has NEVER been released on DVD. What the hell! I read a bit more and hear that a Box Set for the entire series is coming in November 2014. I don't know if this has been in the works for a while and the release date keeps getting pushed back. From the sound of it, it has. I would definitely grab the Box Set if the price is right. I wonder if the movie would be included with the set, which ironically is the only thing on DVD at the moment.

The show's never been released because the rights are held by two different studios who have no reason to get along with each other. I'm sure there's some clearance issues as well regarding all the celebs who show up, but I hope that's not the case.